Who’s really setting the price of your pint?

Who really decides what’s on tap at your local pub?

You might think it’s all about customer choice, but here’s the twist: At least 80 per cent of the beer we drink in Australia is owned by just two Japanese giants, Lion and Asahi. 

On Monday morning’s episode of The Briefing, Bension Siebert sits down with Mazen Hajjar, CEO of Hawkers Beer, one of the largest independent producers in Victoria. He reveals the secret battle over beer taps at your local bar and pub.

The beer tap duopoly you don’t know about

An investigation into beer tap contracts has revealed the brewing duopoly of CUB (owned by Asahi) and Lion Nathan (owned by Kirin) continues to control most of the taps in Australian pubs. 

These agreements, locking bars into long-term contracts, significantly limit opportunities for small, independent brewers and skew consumer choice.  

“This country is built on the principle of having a fair go. And if you can’t afford $100,000 to buy a tap at a venue, then you’re not allowed to be in this. It all doesn’t seem fair. If it was fair, other countries would be allowing it,” Hajjar said. 

Independent brewers, like Hajjar, argue the system stifles small players.

“If a bar has 10 taps, eight of them are locked away for Asahi or Kirin,” he said.

This arrangement drives down margins for small brewers, who must continuously rotate through taps, often at a loss.  

The issue, which was investigated by the ACCC in 2017, raised questions about anti-competitive practices but concluded that the contracts were unlikely to harm competition. 

The contracts often involve upfront payments, rebates, and renovations, incentivising publicans to prioritise high-volume sales of big brands. 

While these deals can provide financial benefits for venues, they limit the diversity of beers on offer and create a mirage of choice for consumers. 

“So what you end up with is this fake proposal to the consumer. You walk into a bar and you see Balter and Pirate Life and Mountain Goat…and all these different brands that look like they’re different, that they all speak the language of local, but they’re really coming all out of the same source. And they’re all coming out of the same company, off the back of the same truck.”

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